Big 12 Media Days

“I’m fortunate in that I believe I have eight guys,” Shealy said, “who will all play for us in some form or fashion.”

Not only is the Jayhawks’ cornerback position stocked with some of the best depth on the team, it also features experienced players who have risen to the top of the depth chart.

The list starts with Chris Harris, a senior who made a lasting impression on Shealy in the first few days of spring practices.

During goal-line drills, Harris made as many big plays as any Jayhawk on defense. Shealy also noticed that Harris wouldn’t allow himself to be blocked by bigger linemen.

“I thought that was really impressive,” Shealy said. “Maybe not something that people would sit there and say, ‘That’s what a corner’s job is,’ but I think down there you’ve got to expect that of guys.”

Harris, who also is an effective blitzer, didn’t back down during one-on-one drills, either. Shealy said when Harris was beaten in practice, he made sure to find that receiver later to try to lock him down again.

“You saw Chris line up and you saw the mind-set that … ‘If you think you’re going to catch the ball on me this drill, you’ve got to be kidding yourself,'” Shealy said. “You saw that way about him.”

Calvin Rubles, meanwhile, shot up the depth chart during the spring.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior from Richardson, Texas, has a long reach and also was one of the Jayhawks’ hardest workers in the film room, many times coming in before team meetings to go over film with Shealy.

“He’s got a lot more maturity about him on the field than most of our guys at corner have. You can kind of see that maturity show,” Shealy said. “I think it’s good for a football team when a senior kind of comes out of nowhere and all of a sudden is making plays.”

Lawrence native Ryan Murphy is slotted as the team’s nickel back. The junior led the team with two interceptions last season despite only starting at nickel twice.

“He has a mind-set of, ‘I’m here to play well, whether you like me or not. I’m here to play today,'” Shealy said. “I like his moxie.”

Junior Isiah Barfield — who was switched back to cornerback after playing receiver last season — is one of the best athletes on the team.

Sophomore Greg Brown also was a surprise player in spring practices, as he displayed some of the best speed on the squad.

“There’s some things that Greg and Isiah can do that a lot of our other corners can’t do,” Shealy said, “just because they are really fast kids.”

Junior Anthony Davis started four games at corner for KU a season ago, but Shealy only saw him a handful of times in the spring practices after Davis pulled his hamstring.

Sophomore Corrigan Powell and red-shirt freshman Tyler Patmon are the other two corners who will compete for playing time on defense or special teams.

Though Shealy said he wouldn’t hesitate to switch around his cornerbacks based on certain matchups with receivers, he wasn’t inclined to make mid-game substitutions based on performance.

Last season, many of KU’s corners were yanked immediately from the lineup after surrendering big plays.

“It’s not like you sit there and all of a sudden you’re buying a red car, and you say, ‘That blue car looks better now that I bought the red car.’ And if you get tired of the blue car, then you move onto the orange car,” Shealy said. “You’ve got to look underneath the hood. Which one kind of through tests shows that he’s the guy that we put our faith in?”

Most of all, Shealy wants to see guys who can put their miscues behind them quickly.

“It’s kind of like a baseball player. You’re never going to be perfect, but everybody sees when you’re not,” Shealy said. “I think it takes a pretty tough, hard-nosed competitor sometimes to handle playing at a position where everyone sees your mistake.”